Published: Monday, January 14, 2013 at 12:58 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, January 14, 2013 at 12:58 p.m.

Work is expected to begin this week on a $26.3 million contract for beach nourishment and inlet dredging projects in Southeastern North Carolina.

The contract includes three separate projects – Bald Head Island, Carolina Beach and Kure Beach.

Bald Head Island

Work on the Wilmington Harbor dredging project will be tackled first, according to Bob Kiestler, navigation project manager for the Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington district.

The Wilmington Harbor dredging project is an ongoing endeavor that includes $16.9 million of federal funding to dredge the portion of the shipping channel adjacent to Bald Head Island, Kiestler said.

Work will be completed by Covington, La.-based Weeks Marine Inc., which was awarded the contract for all three projects in late November.

The work will remove about 1.8-million cubic yards of sand from the inner-ocean bar at the mouth of the Cape Fear River. That sand will then be placed on Bald Head Island's west and south beaches.

"Every year we go back and talk with pilots and the coast guard about where the greatest need is for this dredging project and the Wilmington Harbor is the most critical this year from a safety standpoint," Kiestler said. "We try to line these safety efforts up with being able to help out a local community by moving the sand there."

Kiestler said the dredging equipment is already out on the beach and he expects work to begin late this week.

Carolina Beach

The contractors will begin the Carolina Beach storm-damage reduction project – or more commonly known as a beach nourishment – after finishing the work on Bald Head Island. Kiestler said the two projects use the same equipment, a pipeline dredge, so they must wait until the first is finished to move on to the next one.

This project will take an estimated 680,000 cubic yards of sand from the Carolina Beach Inlet and pipe it over to the areas of the beach that are eroded the most, Keistler said.

This nourishment process occurs at Carolina Beach every three years.

"How our beach is situated we face erosion every year and this year more than usual," said Carolina Beach Mayor Bob Lewis. "If you walk out there today, the erosion has turned some of the sand dunes into like a little cliff. The whole beach isn't that way, but the high tide mark is getting closer and closer to the top of all the sand dunes."

Lewis said the project will distribute sand to try to recreate the beach's look from three years ago.

The project's price tag is about $4.6 million, according to Keistler. About 65 percent of this cost will be covered with federal funds, and the rest is split between the state, the county and the town.

Kure Beach

The Kure Beach storm-damage reduction project is scheduled to begin work in early March, Kiestler said.

It will also cost around $4.6 million and is covered by the same breakdown of funds as the Carolina Beach project.

"We don't have any beach left at the northern end and we have hardly any at the southern end," he said. "Those are the areas we're focusing on. Hopefully we'll be able to do the whole beach one day because the center could use some work too. We're just glad to get it, get what we can."

Keistler said the estimated 432,000 cubic yards of sand for the Kure Beach nourishment will come from an offshore sand borrow site, requiring the contractors to use a hopper dredge.

A hopper dredge picks up the material, stores it onboard, transports it to the disposal area, and then dumps it, while the pipeline dredge pumps the material directly from the source to the beach throughout the dredging process.

Kiestler said the work at Kure Beach must be completed by March 31, so as not to disturb nesting sea turtles.

The other two projects, Bald Head Island and Carolina Beach, have until April 30 to complete their work.

<p>Work is expected to begin this week on a $26.3 million contract for beach nourishment and inlet dredging projects in Southeastern North Carolina.</p><p>The contract includes three separate projects – Bald Head Island, Carolina Beach and Kure Beach.</p><h3>Bald Head Island</h3>
<p>Work on the Wilmington Harbor dredging project will be tackled first, according to Bob Kiestler, navigation project manager for the Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington district.</p><p>The Wilmington Harbor dredging project is an ongoing endeavor that includes $16.9 million of federal funding to dredge the portion of the shipping channel adjacent to Bald Head Island, Kiestler said.</p><p>Work will be completed by Covington, La.-based Weeks Marine Inc., which was awarded the contract for all three projects in late November.</p><p>The work will remove about 1.8-million cubic yards of sand from the inner-ocean bar at the mouth of the <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic91"><b>Cape Fear River</b></a>. That sand will then be placed on Bald Head Island's west and south beaches.</p><p>"Every year we go back and talk with pilots and the coast guard about where the greatest need is for this dredging project and the Wilmington Harbor is the most critical this year from a safety standpoint," Kiestler said. "We try to line these safety efforts up with being able to help out a local community by moving the sand there."</p><p>Kiestler said the dredging equipment is already out on the beach and he expects work to begin late this week.</p><h3>Carolina Beach</h3>
<p>The contractors will begin the Carolina Beach storm-damage reduction project – or more commonly known as a beach nourishment – after finishing the work on Bald Head Island. Kiestler said the two projects use the same equipment, a pipeline dredge, so they must wait until the first is finished to move on to the next one.</p><p>This project will take an estimated 680,000 cubic yards of sand from the Carolina Beach Inlet and pipe it over to the areas of the beach that are eroded the most, Keistler said.</p><p>This nourishment process occurs at Carolina Beach every three years.</p><p>"How our beach is situated we face erosion every year and this year more than usual," said Carolina Beach Mayor Bob Lewis. "If you walk out there today, the erosion has turned some of the sand dunes into like a little cliff. The whole beach isn't that way, but the high tide mark is getting closer and closer to the top of all the sand dunes."</p><p>Lewis said the project will distribute sand to try to recreate the beach's look from three years ago. </p><p>The project's price tag is about $4.6 million, according to Keistler. About 65 percent of this cost will be covered with federal funds, and the rest is split between the state, the county and the town.</p><h3>Kure Beach</h3>
<p>The Kure Beach storm-damage reduction project is scheduled to begin work in early March, Kiestler said.</p><p>It will also cost around $4.6 million and is covered by the same breakdown of funds as the Carolina Beach project.</p><p>Kure Beach Mayor Dean Lambeth said the beach nourishment process is "definitely necessary."</p><p>"We don't have any beach left at the northern end and we have hardly any at the southern end," he said. "Those are the areas we're focusing on. Hopefully we'll be able to do the whole beach one day because the center could use some work too. We're just glad to get it, get what we can."</p><p>Keistler said the estimated 432,000 cubic yards of sand for the Kure <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic93"><b>Beach nourishment</b></a> will come from an offshore sand borrow site, requiring the contractors to use a hopper dredge.</p><p>A hopper dredge picks up the material, stores it onboard, transports it to the disposal area, and then dumps it, while the pipeline dredge pumps the material directly from the source to the beach throughout the dredging process.</p><p>Kiestler said the work at Kure Beach must be completed by March 31, so as not to disturb nesting sea turtles.</p><p>The other two projects, Bald Head Island and Carolina Beach, have until April 30 to complete their work.</p><p>Ashley Withers: 343-2223</p><p><a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @AshleyWithers</p>